Quincy Acy the back up 3

So Quincy Acy's new position is a full time small forward and will be be Fields main competition for minutes. Is this a good move for the raps training staff? IMO more of Quincy Act off the bench with his motor is a good thing in my book he displayed some nice new skills in Summer League

So Quincy Acy's new position is a full time small forward and will be be Fields main competition for minutes. Is this a good move for the raps training staff? IMO more of Quincy Act off the bench with his motor is a good thing in my book he displayed some nice new skills in Summer League

This says nothing new, nor does it say anything about him being moved full time to small forward. The title is the only thing that suggests it, which actually just makes it a horribly inaccurate title. The argument the article is making is really that he needs to be able to play both forward spots to some degree, especially defensively.

And that he'll be competing with lots of guys on the roster for SF minutes, but that doesn't mean he won't also be the 3rd PF. I don't count Novak, who's really a situational forward for his shooting....as in if Amir/Tyler got injured, I think Acy would be the likely one to step up and fill the empty slot.

I dont think its that misleading hes only been training as a perimeter player all summer during SL and the end of last season. He wont be getting minutes as a 4 on the team with JV amir and Tyler the 3 is where he has to play.

I dont think its that misleading hes only been training as a perimeter player all summer during SL and the end of last season. He wont be getting minutes as a 4 on the team with JV amir and Tyler the 3 is where he has to play.

What the article says...

Toronto Raptors sophomore forward Quincy Acy has been training hard this summer as he hopes to win some court time in what is expected to be a tight rotation. Head Coach Dwane Casey had Acy trying out the small forward position at NBA Summer League and that is where Acy’s efforts remain focused.

“(I am) just training really, trying to take care of my body and prepare for the upcoming season,” Acy said. “(Working on my) jump shot and lateral movement, so I can move my feet to guard threes.”

The classic undersized power forward in college, at 6’7 tall without shoes Acy is a combo-forward in the NBA who will probably need to be able to guard both forward positions in order to carve himself out a long professional career. However, there are more than just subtle differences between the three and the four spots on the court as Acy experienced during his first attempts in Las Vegas this past July.

“You can’t be as physical all the time because it is on the perimeter and you can’t use hands,” Acy explained. “Whereas in the post, it is all arm and leg battles continuously. It is just trying to gauge when and when not to use your physicality.”

Small forward has become a crowded spot on the Raptors this season with the starter Rudy Gay soaking up 36 minutes per night or more and the veteran three-point specialist Steve Novak arriving from the Knicks earlier in the summer expected to be in the rotation. The Raptors have also signed the 6’11 forward Austin Daye and have invited forward Chris Wright to training camp. All of these players can be described as combo-forwards that have already played at the small forward position. Also DeMar DeRozan, Terrence Ross and Landry Fields can play small forward if needed.

There's actually less competition at PF. There are basically 4-6 guys he's competing with at SF. At PF it's really just Amir, Tyler and Novak. Don't forget Amir will also get some C minutes. There may be some minutes up for grabs more frequently at PF if one of those guys goes down or whenever one or both are in foul trouble. If Casey is going to stress D, Acy's gotta be the one getting those minutes, and Novak would stay in his specialist/situational role. In fact there's less overall competition on the roster than at the start of last year, where Bargs, Ed and Amir were all slotted at PF. And you can throw Kleiza in there too. *Edit: While you can maybe throw Daye in there, or Gay during some small ball, I really don't think the expected options go beyond Tyler, Amir, Novak and Acy. Daye is still paper thin and weak. And it's possible Acy or Novak is on the floor with Gay during small ball, so it's hard to account for what'll happen in that situation.

I thought it was pretty clear from the way Casey called him a "power 3" that he meant using him against bigger SFs, basically mostly situationally at that spot. It's not an attempt to turn him into only a SF. It's basically trying to increase his versatility so that he can play multiple roles, which since he's likely to be a career backup/3rd stringer, better for him to be able to play two positions to some degree than being stuck at one.

He also didn't exclusively play SF at summer league. I'm sure he has been working on those skills more than his PF skills, because he doesn't really need to work on his game there. He knows how to play inside much better than he does outside, and if he improved his quickness it would even help his offense at PF where it'd be good for someone his size to have a bit of a face up game.

I don't expect Acy to get many minutes at either forward position. I think he's well down the depth chart, especially if guys like Ross, Fields, Daye and Novak all play up to expectations. If I had to pick, I'd expect that he's more likely to get more minutes at PF than SF (greater liklihood of players in foul trouble, Gray isn't a heavy minutes guy, playing small ball, less competition, etc...).

I don't expect Acy to get many minutes at either forward position. I think he's well down the depth chart, especially if guys like Ross, Fields, Daye and Novak all play up to expectations. If I had to pick, I'd expect that he's more likely to get more minutes at PF than SF (greater liklihood of players in foul trouble, Gray isn't a heavy minutes guy, playing small ball, less competition, etc...).

I think Acy will get more burn than Daye as a defensive motor guy, guarding either the 3/4 spot depending on the match-up. But overall, agree that Ross, Fields and Novak will be higher on the pecking order. I like Acy's potential as a defender though, and he could help out on the glass next to Novak (when Novak's at the 4 he'll still be perimeter offensively).

I think Acy will get more burn than Daye as a defensive motor guy, guarding either the 3/4 spot depending on the match-up. But overall, agree that Ross, Fields and Novak will be higher on the pecking order. I like Acy's potential as a defender though, and he could help out on the glass next to Novak (when Novak's at the 4 he'll still be perimeter offensively).

The game better be well out of hand one way or another, if the Raptors' on-court forward combo is Novak & Acy! That's like a bad, less talented version of the failed Bargnani/Evans experience from a couple years back! ohhhhh I get it... tanking! In that case, full speed ahead, good sir! lol

he could help out on the glass next to Novak (when Novak's at the 4 he'll still be perimeter offensively).

Wouldn't this just waste the point of having a stretch 4 out there? If your 4 is on the outside and your 3 is on the inside the defence can just play normal D by switching who their 3 and 4 are guarding.

Wouldn't this just waste the point of having a stretch 4 out there? If your 4 is on the outside and your 3 is on the inside the defence can just play normal D by switching who their 3 and 4 are guarding.

I'm thinking more of crashing from the perimeter (especially weakside) for boards rather than actually setting up inside. When Acy is on the court, I see him basically running around setting screens for everyone at or around the 18ft mark, then crashing to keep the ball alive on the boards.

SF vs. PF? This is going to be a moot point against a lot of teams. There are teams playing four perimeter players and one big. Sometimes the SF is just a second SG. Some teams roll out two PGs and the SF is actually the primary SG. Teams like Miami will play two SFs and they'll match up against whoever they want to on the defensive end. The occasional team goes large and their SF is actually 6'9".

Acy's skill development is what matters. "Acy improved his handles" and "Acy improved his range" would mean he's more versatile and able to play in more situations against different matchups. PJ Tucker has made that shift already.

A lot will still depend on who else is in the Raptors lineup, too - if there's a glut of guys on the perimeter like Novak, Fields, and Gay, then they may want Acy on the inside. If JV, Amir, and Hansbrough are eating up all the inside minutes and perimeter play is sub-par, then they could move him outside.

Basically Acy's too far down the depth chart to have guaranteed minutes at any position. He's going to need to expand his skill set to see more court time. Heck, he's going to need to expand his skill set just to stay in the league past his rookie contract.